DOCSLIB.ORG

DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: a SURVEY of COMMUNITY RESPONSES Mauricio A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: a SURVEY of COMMUNITY RESPONSES Mauricio A Fordham Urban Law Journal Volume 30 | Number 6 Article 5 2003 DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY RESPONSES Mauricio A. Espana Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj Part of the Labor and Employment Law Commons Recommended Citation Mauricio A. Espana, DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY RESPONSES, 30 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1979 (2003). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol30/iss6/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Urban Law Journal by an authorized editor of FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY RESPONSES Cover Page Footnote J.D. 2003, Fordham University School of Law; Associate, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw (as of September 2003). I would like to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me as I strived to carry on my endeavors. I would like to express special gratitude to my mother, father, family, and friends for their unending support, tolerance, and understanding. This article is available in Fordham Urban Law Journal: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol30/iss6/5 DAY LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE: A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY RESPONSES Mauricio A. Espafia* INTRODUCTION A landscaper named Ausencio is hanging seventy-five feet in the air suspended by only a two-inch rope as he attempts to trim a tree.' In one hand, he holds a chainsaw while with the other he tries to keep himself stable.2 As he works diligently to cut down this tree, the rope becomes untied and he plummets to his death.' Under normal circumstances, Ausencio's co-workers and employer would run to his aid and summon an ambulance to help him. For Ausencio, however, none of this is a reality because of one reason; he is a day laborer.4 Communities throughout New York State, such as Farmingdale and Freeport, Long Island, Bensonhurst and Williamsburg, Brook- lyn, and Woodside, Queens, have for some time grappled with how to integrate a day labor force into their communities.5 Day labor- * J.D. 2003, Fordham University School of Law; Associate, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw (as of September 2003). I would like to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me as I strived to carry on my endeavors. I would like to express special gratitude to my mother, father, family, and friends for their unending support, tolerance, and understanding. 1. Valeria Godines, Fatal Fall Illustrates Risks Taken by Desperate Immigrants, ORANGE COUNTY REG., July 19, 2002, at State & Regional News. 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. I use the word reality because in this situation the day laborer was abandoned by his employer. 5. Wil Cruz, Roosevelt Avenue Day Laborers, Officials Meet Over Concerns, NEWSDAY, Sept. 8, 2002, at A17 (discussing the day laborer population and contro- versy in Woodside Queens); Ron Howell, Gathering Spot for Day Laborers; Official site for hiring opens in Bensonhurst, NEWSDAY, Mar. 5, 2002, at A15 [hereinafter Howell, Bensonhurst Center] (discussing the opening of a day labor site in Ben- sonhurst Brooklyn); Ron Howell, Laborers Pressured To Move, NEWSDAY, Aug. 29, 2002, at A16 [hereinafter Howell, Williamsburg Removal] (discussing the removal of Latina and Polish women day laborers from the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn); Bart Jones, Laborer Site's Slow Start, NEWSDAY, Sept. 19, 2002, at A26 [hereinafter Jones, Freeport Center] (discussing the permanent center created in Freeport, Long Island); Bart Jones, Residents In Support Of Laborers; Amid adversity, hope, NEWS- DAY, Aug. 26, 2002, at A04 [hereinafter Jones, Farmingdale Center] (discussing the opening of a day labor site in Farmingdale, Long Island); Marta E. Kane, Day Labor- ers Site Closed by Village, FARMINGDALE OBSERVER, June 15, 2001, at 1 (discussing the removal of day laborers from a public street in Farmingdale, Long Island). 1979 1980 FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL [Vol. XXX ers are typically at-will employees that are hired on public streets.6 Although these communities rely on day laborers as a source of cheap labor, they also find the presence of these workers troub- ling. 7 Their major contentions are that they create unsanitary con- ditions, they are aesthetically detrimental to their neighborhoods, and they take away jobs from American citizens. 8 Some communi- ties respond with overt hostility to day laborers.9 Other communi- ties implement solutions that not only move the hiring process of day laborers-and thus the workers themselves-off public streets, but also create permanent centers where private organizations can monitor employers and empower laborers by teaching them their rights.' 0 This comment discusses the various ways that communities that benefit from day laborers respond to the presence of this "under- ground" employment phenomenon. Part I provides some back- ground into the day laborers' situation, livelihood, and legal rights. Part II discusses the competing issues faced by day laborers, as well as the issues the laborers present to community residents, employ- ers, and the United States Government. Finally, Part III discusses the different solutions that communities confronted with day labor- ers have proposed and implemented, and concludes that it is in the best interests of all parties involved that communities accept day labors and accommodate them in shape up sites. I. BACKGROUND Day laborers are primarily undocumented immigrants from Latin America that seek work on a daily basis.1 A day laborer is "someone who gathers at a street corner, empty parking lot, . or 6. Stephen R. Munzer, Ellickson on "Chronic Misconduct" in Urban Spaces: Of Panhandlers,Bench Squatters, and Day Laborers,32 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L.REv. 1, 33-34 (1997). 7. Howell, Williamsburg Removal, supra note 5, at A16; Kane, supra note 5, at 1. There are also community organizations such as Sachem in Farmingdale, Long Island, whose goals include prohibiting day laborers from seeking work and getting them deported. SACHEM QUALITY OF LIFE ORGANIZATION, at http://sqlife.org/about.htm (last visited Mar. 17, 2003). 8. See infra Part II.B. 9. Howell, Williamsburg Removal, supra note 5, at A16; Kane, supra note 5, at 1. 10. Cruz, supra note 5, at A17; Howell, Bensonhurst Center, supra note 5, at A15; Jones, Farmingdale Center, supra note 5, at A04; Jones, Freeport Center, supra note 5, at A26. 11. ABEL VALENZUELA, JR., CTR. FOR THE STUDY OF URBAN POVERTY, WORK- ING ON THE MARGINS: IMMIGRANT DAY LABOR CHARACTERISTICS AND PROSPECTS FOR EMPLOYMENT 7, 10, 16, 22, 23 (1999), available at http://www.weingart.org/insti- tute/research/colloquia/pdf/DayLaborerStudy.pdf (last visited Mar. 21, 2003); ABEL 2003] DAY-LABORERS, FRIEND OR FOE 1981 an official hiring site, to sell their labor [, as an individual rather than union or company,] for the day, hour, or for a particular job. '1 2 Most of them are undocumented immigrants that enter the United States illegally in search of work. 3 Although the majority of them are Mexican immigrants, many come from throughout Southern and Central America, and most lack proficiency in the English language.' 4 The majority of day laborers are unable to work in the mainstream labor market either because they are un- documented or because they lack the ability to speak English. 5 Additionally, the overwhelming majority of day laborers are men between the age of eighteen and sixty-five. 6 In New York, how- ever, the day laborer phenomenon is not exclusive to Latino men; it also includes women and Eastern Europeans. 7 Day laborers usually emigrate from their countries because of dire economic or political situations and live meager, modest lives in the United States. Some individuals come to the United States in order to support their families back home, where there are no VALENZUELA, JR. & EDWIN MELENDEZ, DAY LABOR IN NEW YORK: FINDINGS FROM THE NYDL SURVEY 1, 5 (2003); Munzer, supra note 6, at 33-34. 12. VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 1; Munzer, supra note 6, at 33- 34. 13. VALENZUELA, supra note 11, at 7; VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5. In New York, Professor Valenzuela's survey report found that less than sixteen percent of day laborers had legal status in the United States when they first arrived. VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5. 14. VALENZUELA, supra note 11, at 10, 22; VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5. Day laborers are primarily Latinos from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, and Peru. VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5. This list, however, is not exclusive. Id. In New York, there are day labors from coun- tries as widespread as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Poland, Ukraine, Canada, and many others. Id. at 5 n.2. 15. VALENZUELA, supra note 11, at 16; VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 9-10. According to Professor Valenzuela, the majority of day laborers inter- viewed in Los Angeles, 40.3%, provided lack of work authorization as their reason for being day laborers; the second greatest number, 21.3%, claimed lack of English profi- ciency. VALENZUELA, supra note 11, at 16. Similarly, Professor Valenzuela found that in New York, 31.3% of day laborers cited lack of work authorization as the pri- mary reason and 34.7% claimed lack of English proficiency. VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 9-10. 16. VALENZUELA, supra note 11, at 11, 23; VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5. 17. VALENZUELA & MELENDEZ, supra note 11, at 5; Howell, Williamsburg Re- moval, supra note 5. In New York, five percent of day labors surveyed were women.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Pacific Coast and the Casual Labor Economy, 1919-1933
    © Copyright 2015 Alexander James Morrow i Laboring for the Day: The Pacific Coast and the Casual Labor Economy, 1919-1933 Alexander James Morrow A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2015 Reading Committee: James N. Gregory, Chair Moon-Ho Jung Ileana Rodriguez Silva Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of History ii University of Washington Abstract Laboring for the Day: The Pacific Coast and the Casual Labor Economy, 1919-1933 Alexander James Morrow Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor James Gregory Department of History This dissertation explores the economic and cultural (re)definition of labor and laborers. It traces the growing reliance upon contingent work as the foundation for industrial capitalism along the Pacific Coast; the shaping of urban space according to the demands of workers and capital; the formation of a working class subject through the discourse and social practices of both laborers and intellectuals; and workers’ struggles to improve their circumstances in the face of coercive and onerous conditions. Woven together, these strands reveal the consequences of a regional economy built upon contingent and migratory forms of labor. This workforce was hardly new to the American West, but the Pacific Coast’s reliance upon contingent labor reached its apogee after World War I, drawing hundreds of thousands of young men through far flung circuits of migration that stretched across the Pacific and into Latin America, transforming its largest urban centers and working class demography in the process. The presence of this substantial workforce (itinerant, unattached, and racially heterogeneous) was out step with the expectations of the modern American worker (stable, married, and white), and became the warrant for social investigators, employers, the state, and other workers to sharpen the lines of solidarity and exclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Day Labor in Las Vegas Employer Indiscretions in Sin City
    JANUARY 2018 Day Labor in Las Vegas Employer Indiscretions in Sin City NIK THEODORE BLISS REQUA-TRAUTZ UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S This report was commissioned by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the ¡Arriba! Las Vegas Worker Center. This report would not have been possible without the diligent data-collection efforts of the survey team: Janet Favela, Cal Soto, Francisco Pacheco, Omar Leon, Adam Bradlow, Ana Raya, Sonia Gutierrez, Omar Henriquez, Pablo Alvarado, Paloma Guerrero and Lin Soriano. Thanks also to Matthew Spurlock and Pablo Alvarado for comments on an earlier draft of this report. Photo credits and thank you to Liliana Trejo Vanegas for the images in this report. This report was designed by Angel Sandoval A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S Nik Theodore Professor of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Senior Associate at the UIC Great Cities Institute, and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. His current research focuses on economic restructuring and labor standards, and he has been a lead researcher on projects examining conditions in low-wage labor markets, including day labor, domestic work, temporary staffing, and the state of workplace protections in low-wage industries. Contact: [email protected] Bliss Requa-Trautz Director of the ¡Arriba! Las Vegas Worker Center. The mission of the Las Vegas Worker Center is to organize, educate, and empower worker and migrant communities to take action to defend their rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Immigrant Day Labor Characteristics and Prospects for Employment
    The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies CCIS University of California, San Diego Working on the Margins: Immigrant Day Labor Characteristics and Prospects for Employment By Abel Valenzuela, Jr. University of California, Los Angeles Working Paper 22 May 2000 1 permission of author. Comments are welcomed and can be directed to author at [email protected] I am responsible for all interpretations and s hortcomings found in this article. Working on the Margins: Immigrant Day Labor Characteristics and Prospects for Employment* Abel Valenzuela Jr. This article presents for the first time findings from the Day Labor Survey. Drawing upon 481 randomly surveyed immigrant day workers at 87 hiring sites throughout Southern California, I examine key demographic, social, and labor market characteristics of this burgeoning informal market. The findings suggest that not all day laborers are desperate, bottom of the barrel, recently arrived job seekers. Day laborers are diverse in family structure, recency of arrival, tenure in day work, and human capital. Earnings among day laborers are mixed; hourly rates are higher than federal or state minimum wage ceilings, however this advantage is clearly offset by unstable work patterns. These findings suggest that for a significant number of immigrant day laborers, work in this informal market may be an alternative to work in the low-skill, formal labor market. Day labor work is a burgeoning market in immigrant filled cities and regions (Gearty, 1999; McQuiston, 1999; Visser, 1999). In Southern California, between 15,000 and 20,000 day laborers, spread over 100 hiring sites, exist (Valenzuela, 1999). This market is almost entirely comprised of men, mostly immigrants, who wait patiently on street corners, empty lots, or home- improvement stores every morning to informally exchange labor for the day for individually negotiated wages.
    [Show full text]
  • Challenging Exploitation and Abuse: a Study of the Day Labor Industry in Cleveland
    Challenging Exploitation and Abuse: A Study of the Day Labor Industry in Cleveland Daniel Kerr Ph.D. candidate in history, Case Western Reserve University Chris Dole Ph.D. candidate in anthropology, Case Western Reserve University September 4, 2001 Report prepared for Cleveland City Council Acknowledgements We would like to thank first and foremost the 77 people who shared their experiences, often times in explicit detail, in spite of the pervasive fear that workers would be retaliated against for collaborating with this project. Secondly, we would like to thank the fifteen volunteers who helped us conduct the interviews: J.E. Avery, Priscilla Bell, Doran Blinderman, Eddie Boyte, Geri Chessler, Roxanne Feldman, Mark Hennigan, Don Messitt, Robert Molchan, Beverley Reed, Stephanie Shelton, Dina Sherman, Lara Wixon, Katie Woznicki, and Pamela Zwolinsky. The many evenings and weekends they spent doing interviews are greatly appreciated by us and the working poor of the city of Cleveland. The assistance David Quintana and Jude Crocker provided in organizing the focus groups was enormously helpful. Brian Davis and Angela Joyce of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the homeless have been key supporters of this research project from the beginning. They have also provided much needed advice in crafting the questionnaires. Sing Vang and Joe Bercik deserve most of the credit for developing the questionnaires and guidelines for interviewers. Angelo Anderson at the Salvation Army, Sister Corita Ambro at St. Augustines, and Sharon Fields at Bishop Cosgrove Center have all been instrumental to this study by allowing us to conduct interviews in the facilities they oversee. Each of them has recognized the importance of the day labor issue for the client population they serve.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 California Employer's Guide
    2020 CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER’S GUIDE DE 44 Rev. 464 (1-(1-1208) (INTERNET) Cover + 118 pages CU Important Information Electronic Reporting and Payment Requirement: All employers must electronically submit employment tax returns, wage reports, and payroll tax deposits to the Employment Development Department (EDD). For more information, visit the e-file and e-pay mandate and related noncompliance penalties (edd.ca.gov/EfileMandate) or refer to page 49. e-Services for Business: Employers can file, pay, and manage their employer payroll tax account online. For more information, visit e-Services for Business (edd.ca.gov/e-Services_for_Business) or refer to page 50. State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES): Employers and third-party administrators can elect to electronically receive and respond to the EDD Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim Filed (DE 1101CZ) using SIDES. For more information, visit SIDES (edd.ca.gov/SIDES). New Employee Registry (NER): All employers are required by law to report all newly hired or rehired employees to the NER within 20 days of their start-of-work date. For more information, visit NER FAQs (edd.ca.gov/payroll_taxes/faq_-_california_new_employee_registry) or refer to page 53. Tax Seminars: The EDD offers no-cost seminars to help employers comply with state payroll tax laws. For more information, visit payroll tax seminars (edd.ca.gov/payroll_tax_seminars) or refer to page 1. Fraud Prevention, Detection, Reporting, and UI Rate Manipulation: For information on how to prevent and detect UI fraud, visit UI Fraud (edd.ca.gov/unemployment/fraud_and_penalties_what_you_need_to_ know) or refer to page 84. Improper Payment of UI Benefits is a serious problem that has a financial impact on employers and can result in higher UI taxes for all employers.
    [Show full text]
  • How Communities Can Best Address a Growing Day-Labor Workforce
    371 “We Are Your Neighbors”: How Communities Can Best Address a Growing Day-Labor Workforce Amy Pritchard1 We build the buildings, we do the hardest jobs, and still they don’t want us. —Juan Ignacio Gutiérrez, day laborer On September 4, 2007, the town of Herndon, Virginia, voted to close its day-laborer center that had become the focus of local controversy and national attention.2 Less than two years before, Herndon established the center in response to chaos caused by large numbers of men congregating along local streets seeking employment as day laborers,3 workers who are hired for and paid by the day. In order to eliminate this congregation, Herndon enacted ordinances prohibiting solicitation along town streets4 and attempted to funnel the workers and potential employers to the day-laborer center.5 Many local residents opposed the center—primarily because it did not verify the immigration status of workers—and ultimately voted to unseat the mayor and city council members who created it.6 The newly elected governmental officials committed themselves to reforming the center to exclude all clients who did not verify that they were legally authorized to work in the United States.7 Local residents responded to Herndon’s day-laborer center and antisolicitation ordinances with a series of lawsuits. A group of local residents, with the help of conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, filed an action to enjoin the use of taxpayer funds for the day-laborer center 372 SEATTLE JOURNAL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE if it continued serving undocumented
    [Show full text]
  • Day Labor in the United States
    ON THE CORNER: Day Labor in the United States Abel Valenzuela Jr. UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty Nik Theodore University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development Edwin Meléndez New School University Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy Ana Luz Gonzalez UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty January 2006 The National Day Labor Study was made possible through generous support from The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region’s Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants and UCLA’s Center for the Study of Urban Poverty through the dean of social sciences. The report can be viewed or downloaded at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/issr/csup/index.php or http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/uicued ON THE CORNER: Day Labor in the United States Executive Summary This report profiles, for the first time, the national phenomenon of day labor in the United States. Men and women looking for employment in open-air markets by the side of the road, at busy intersections, in front of home improvement stores and in other public spaces are ubiquitous in cities across the nation. The circumstances that give rise to this labor market are complex and poorly understood. In this report, we analyze data from the National Day Labor Survey, the first systematic and scientific study of the day-labor sector and its workforce in the United States. This portrait of day labor in the United States is based on a national survey of 2,660 day laborers. These workers were randomly selected at 264 hiring sites in 139 municipalities in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Written Statement of the National Employment Law Project on the Subject of Employment and Labor Protections for Day Laborers
    Written statement of the National Employment Law Project on the Subject of Employment and Labor Protections for Day Laborers Written Statement of the National Employment Law Project On the Subject of Employment and Labor Protections for Day Laborers Washington, D.C. September 26th, 2002 Luna M. Yasui National Employment Law Project 55 John Street, 7th Fl. New York, NY 10038 Phone: (212) 285-3025 x105 Fax: (212) 285-3044 1 Written statement of the National Employment Law Project on the Subject of Employment and Labor Protections for Day Laborers Statement of the National Employment Law Project About NELP The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a nonprofit law and policy organization based in New York City. NELP has advocated on behalf of low wage, unemployed and immigrant workers for nearly 30 years. The Immigrant Day Laborer Project is part of NELP’s Immigrant Worker Project which provides technical support and legal resources to community organizations, organized labor, advocates and policy makers interested in protecting and expanding the rights of immigrant workers. In this capacity, NELP is currently working with members of the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON) and Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill) to introduce legislation that would address the exploitative working conditions of day laborers. Executive Summary Day labor is not a new phenomena in the United States. Historically, employers have relied on day laborers to perform manual labor such as construction work, landscaping and to provide domestic services. More recently, the downturn in the economy has resulted in a growing number of workers turning to day labor as their only viable employment option.
    [Show full text]
  • Immigrant Labor in the Forest Industry: the Impacts of H-2B Employment on Local Livelihoods
    Immigrant Labor in the Forest Industry: The Impacts of H-2B Employment on Local Livelihoods by Arnold M. Brodbeck IV A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama May 7, 2016 Keywords: H-2B, immigrant, labor, livelihoods, forestry Copyright 2016 by Arnold M. Brodbeck IV Approved by Wayde Morse, Co-Chair, Assistant Professor, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences L. Conner Bailey, Co-Chair, Professor, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Becky Barlow, Associate Professor, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Ken McNabb, Professor, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Abstract The production of timber requires labor, with peak labor demands coming during reforestation. Much of the labor used in tree planting in the United States (US) is provided by migrant workers. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to examine how the opportunity to work in the US affects migrant workers in their home communities. The specific focus of this study is on migrant workers from Guatemala who work in the southeastern US (South) under H- 2B visas issued by the US Department of Immigration. Migrant laborers working under the H-2B guest worker visa program plant an estimated two million acres every year in the South. In 2004 migrant labor constituted 84% of the forest management labor in the southern forest industry. H-2B labor provides relatively cheap, productive, and reliable labor that enables the forest products industry to remain competitive. The purpose of this study is threefold: First, to describe the role, impact, and importance of H-2B forest workers to Alabama’s forest industry from the perspective of professional foresters; second, to document laborers’ background and explain why immigrant labor from Guatemala participates in the H-2B program; and third, to describe the impacts that earnings associated with H-2B forest employment have on the livelihoods of participating workers, their families, and communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Amended Complaint
    Case 3:12-cv-03247-O Document 15 Filed 10/10/12 Page 1 of 25 PageID 70 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION CHRISTOPHER L. CRANE, DAVID A. ) ENGLE, ANASTASIA MARIE ) CARROLL, RICARDO DIAZ, ) LORENZO GARZA, FELIX ) LUCIANO, TRE REBSTOCK, ) FERNANDO SILVA, SAMUEL ) MARTIN, JAMES D. DOEBLER, and ) Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-03247-O THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, by and ) through GOVERNOR PHIL BRYANT ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) AMENDED COMPLAINT JANET NAPOLITANO, in her official ) capacity as Secretary of Homeland ) Security, JOHN MORTON, in his ) official capacity as Director of ) Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ) and ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, in his ) official capacity as Director of United ) States Citizenship and Immigration ) Services ) ) Defendants. ) INTRODUCTION 1. Plaintiffs are law enforcement officers of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), as well as the State of Mississippi by and through Governor Phil Bryant, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §§ 7-1-5(n) and 7-1-33. 2. On June 15, 2012, Defendant Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a Directive entitled “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children” (hereinafter “the Directive”). The Directive, attached to Case 3:12-cv-03247-O Document 15 Filed 10/10/12 Page 2 of 25 PageID 71 this Complaint as Appendix A, instructs ICE officers to refrain from placing certain aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States (“illegal aliens”) into removal proceedings, and to take actions to facilitate the granting of deferred action to aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Day Laborer Hiring Sites C O N S T R U C T I V E a P P R O a C H E S T O C O M M U N I T Y C O N F L I C T
    DAY LABORER HIRING SITES C O N S T R U C T I V E A P P R O A C H E S T O C O M M U N I T Y C O N F L I C T RO B I N T O M A & JI L L E S B E N S H A D E L O S A N G E L E S CO U N T Y BO A R D O F S U P E RV I S O R S GLORIA MOLINA FIRST DISTRICT YVONNE BRATHWAITE BURKE SECOND DISTRICT ZEV YAROSLAVSKY THIRD DISTRICT DON KNABE FOURTH DISTRICT MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH FIFTH DISTRICT C O M M I S S I O N O N H U M A N R E L AT I O N S RAY BARTLETT • DONNA BOJARSKY • REV. ZEDAR E. BROADOUS VITO CANNELLA • JUDY COFFMAN • SUSANNE CUMMING ALBERT DEBLANC • ADRIAN DOVE • MORRIS KIGHT • LEE ANN KING RUBEN LIZARDO • ROBERTO LOVATO • ELEANOR R. MONTAÑO • HAY YANG ROBIN S. TOMA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RON WAKABAYASHI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (1994-1999) This project was supported by grant number - - - , aw a r ded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Of fi ce of Justice Prog ra m s , United States Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a comp o nent of the Office of Justice Prog ra m s , wh i c h includes the Bureau of Justice Sta t i s t i c s , Nat i o nal Institute of Ju s t i c e , Of fi ce of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven t i on , an d the Office of Victims of Crim e s .
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study of Day Labor Centers in Los Angeles
    Journal of Integrated Social Sciences www.jiss.org, 2013 - 3(1): 106-123 Original Article: ANALYZING DAY LABOR FROM WITHIN: A CASE STUDY OF DAY LABOR CENTERS IN LOS ANGELES Patricia Joyce Johnson California Lutheran University, USA Faculty Sponsor: Akiko Yasuike, Ph.D. California Lutheran University, USA Abstract Traditionally, day labor centers give workers their own space, effectively getting them off the street while giving them access to a system that will support them and advocate for them. Despite the primarily good intentions of the centers, a gap exists between the needs of the workers and the greater purpose of the centers. This ethnographic study conducted at a day labor center in Los Angeles, found that day labor centers rarely address the priorities of the day laborers themselves. While day laborers would greatly benefit from organizing, it is a luxury many cannot afford, as they need steady, reliable employment. The centers need an infusion of new and creative ideas to bridge the gap between organizers and workers and create a space where workers find employment and access to important services. Keywords: Immigration, Day labor, Community organizing, Labor markets, Employment, Immigrant rights __________________ AUTHOR NOTE: Please address all correspondence to: Patricia Joyce Johnson, 1904 Franklin St., Suite 902 Oakland, CA 94612. Email: [email protected] © 2013 Journal of Integrated Social Sciences Johnson Analyzing Day Labor Centers in Los Angeles INTRODUCTION Driving into the parking lot of a home improvement center in downtown Los Angeles a group of 25 people, mostly men, immediately surround you, fighting for your attention. In broken English, you hear shouts of “How many? How many do you need for your project? How many?” as the circle closes in tighter.
    [Show full text]